Little England decks up to usher in Christmas

Secunderabad: With stars, fairy lights and Christmas trees, homes in

Lalaguda

seem to be straight out a Christmas greeting card. Home to a large number of Anglo-Indians, Lalaguda, once known as Little England is ready to ring in Christmas. As people rush in and out of homes with baked goodies in hand, and bands jamming to country songs, it is hard to miss the festive fervour in the air.

Anglo-Indians of the city, who for long lived in Lalaguda and Maredpally, have now branched out to areas such as Sainikpuri and AS Rao Nagar.

Larry Hatch, an elderly member of the St George’s Church said, “There are approximately 12,000 Anglo-Indian families in the twin cities. The rest have moved abroad—especially the younger generation. But those of us here try to celebrate the festival in the traditional manner. After all, Christmas to us means ‘togetherness’ and the homecoming of families.”

Christmas for the community is a month long celebration. Maureen, Larry’s wife said, “The carol singing begins from the first Sunday of the month. The food preparations begin a week or two before Christmas and goes on till New Year.”

Dance and music too find a place in the festivities in the form of a dance ball organised by the community. Members come together to spend an evening dedicated to Waltz, Jive and country music. In an era of commercialisation, traditions surrounding the festival seemed to have begun to fade, said members of the community.

Christine Lazurus, an ex- MLA from the Anglo Indian community pointed out that the community holds onto its roots through their celebrations, clothes and traditional Christmas luncheons. “The times may have changed but the true spirit of Christmas remains the same,” she said heading out to finish the next task ahead of the festival.

(With inputs from Meghana Kurup)